The Dance
by La Esmeralda
Summary: This is a Kuroro fic because I loved them together in X2. There is also some Rogue-Kurt stuff, nothing happens, you'll see why. Post X2 and some possible spoilers. COMPLETE!
1. The Idea

Kurt Wagner looked around Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, _They are all so happy. _He felt so out of place. Even after living at this school for almost six months now he never really felt "settled" and he had been teaching, only after Xavier encouragement, but he never felt at home. He squirmed self-consciously. _What am I doing here?_ A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth when he saw her exit her classroom, she was the reason he stayed. Ororo Monroe, she was the most beautiful woman he had ever set his eyes on and the woman who had found her way into his heart. He subconsciously ran his fingers over his rosary. With a quick prayer he realised that he had been standing there for quite some time. He nervously looked around to see if anyone had noticed before disappearing in a cloud of sulphurous blue smoke.

When Kurt reappeared in the hallway in front of the gym a firm hand caught a hold of his shoulder. He spun around and reflexes kicked in. he knocked the hand off his shoulder and was about to floor the person when he realised who it was.

"_You alright there, Kurt?"_ he asked seeing his angry face. He had managed to catch Kurt's fist and he still held on to it, as if he let go Kurt would deck him.

"I'm fine."

"_There's a meetin' in the Prof's room, alright?"_

"Alright."

He replied quickly and withdrew his fist. _Why am I so jumpy lately?_ Kurt asked himself, _it's not like people don't sneak up me all the time_, but he had been so busy thinking about Ororo that he wasn't prepared for it. Ororo had been on his mind an awful lot recently, _ja_, _I wonder why, _he asked himself.

Lost in thought, Kurt did not even slow down even when the white-haired weather witch appeared right in front of him. He managed to catch her before they collided and it took Kurt several minutes to register what had happened.

"_Fräulein Sturm, _are you alright?" he asked, eying her dubiously.

"_Well...yes..."_ she managed to sputter. _"But how did you...?"_ then she must have smelt the whiff of sulphur laced with brimstone and then quickly said, _"Oh, right, never mind_." She turned away blushing badly.

Kurt looked at Ororo for a minute and then flashed her a toothy grin. "Well," he said, "I was told there is some kind of _treffen sich_ in _Herr_ Professor's office, shall we see what it is about?" he smiled again, hopeful. He managed to sneak a look at Ororo, she muttered some thing along the line of agreeing with him and eyes cast downwards as the entered the office. He sighed and followed her. As they entered the office the Professor smiled at them. Kurt looked around the room, he saw Scott sitting in the corner of the room. He looked very much like he would rather be in his room curled up in bed right this minute, Kurt had to look away. Every time he looked upon the man he could sense how much he was hurting. When the Professor gestured for them to find a seat he decided not to bother and just climbed up the wall and perched on it in the other corner of the room. As the professor began to speak he gave him his full attention.

"_As you all know this year has been off to a...unpleasant start." _

As the Professor said this Cyclops looked away, he could not even bear the reference to Jean. The Professor continued, not taking notice of Scott.

"_Everyone has suffered a great deal and with the Christmas holidays coming I thought that we could find a way to celebrate, do something fun, for the children." _

He paused thoughtfully, looking at every person individually.

"_Does anyone have any ideas?"_

There was silence in the room, no one spoke or moved. It seemed like an eternity to Kurt before Logan said, _"How 'bout a party, or something."_ Kurt thought that might be a fun way to get the children's minds off such depressing issues and nodded vigorously. Ororo finally spoke and as she did so Kurt felt his heart flutter in his chest.

"_A party sounds like a good idea but what will we do?"_ she asked.

Kurt thought for a moment then offered, "What about singing and dancing? Something to help them relax, if only for the night." Nobody said anything, they all looked at Kurt. He could feel color creep into his cheeks and he realised he must be a dark shade of purple right about now.

The Professor finally broke the _silence "Well that sounds like a good idea but we are going to need a few people to watch over the children, chaperone this event. Any volunteers?"_ he asked a smile lit up his face.

Logan took his, now illuminated, cigar out of his mouth and gave a short bark-like laugh and said _"Charles, you tryin' to rope us into babysittin' a bunch of teenagers?"_ He looked at the Professor and tried to make the straightest face he could while saying _"I would love to babysit 'em but I might be to busy partin'." _

At this everyone laughed at this and the tension in the room was broken. The thought of Logan partying with a bunch of adolescents was the funniest thing Kurt had ever heard. Suddenly the Professor's voice broke through his thoughts and he turned his attention to him.

"_Well, this party sounds like it could become interesting,"_ he smiled and continued, _"As long as things don't get too out of hand then this will be a fun break for the night." _

The Professor went on about the date and time but Kurt had stopped listening. Maybe he would be able to work up the courage to ask Ororo for a dance....

XxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Three days after the meeting the news had spread throughout the school that the teacher's were trying to pull a "cheer-up-the-students" bit. Rogue thought it was stupid. _Did they honestly think that they could make the students forget _losing_ a teacher in one night of fun?_ She heard Kitty, her best friend, talking to her. It took her a while to register what her friend had just said.

"_Rogue, you there? I'm trying to talk to you." _

Kitty had one hand on her hip and waved the other in front of Rogue's face. The look in Kitty's eyes told Rogue that she missed something "important". She was starting to get sick of all this lovesick crap Kitty had the miraculous ability of attracting.

"_Well,"_ she demanded_, "what do you think Rogue? Should I ask Piotr to the dance?" _

She stopped waiting for her friend's reply. Rogue was too caught up in her own thoughts to even have the slightest clue as to what Kitty said.

"Uhhh...yeah, sure. Why d'you need my opinion?"

Rogue kept walking. She knew Kitty was still standing there glaring at her but Rogue wanted to find someone. She wound her way around the school but she could not find the blue-skinned, yellow-eyed man she was looking for. She wanted to talk to Nightcrawler. He was become her friend ever since his heroic rescue in the Blackbird, but now that she needed to talk to him he had vanished.

While searching out on the grounds a rumbling Russian accent broke into her thoughts.

"_Rogue, I am...in needing of your assistance." _

She turned around to see Piotr looking down at her, his gaze was timid.

"Whatssup?" she replied in her drawling Southern accent.

He averted her gaze and said quietly _"I was...I was thinking about asking Kitty to the dance..."_ he continued on but Rogue decided to stop listening. _Stupid lovesick crap..._


	2. Confession

Disclaimer: This is applied to the first chapter as well as all the chapters that precede it; I do not own the X-men and they are the property of Marvel comics...although I would like to own Nightcrawler....

Well all you cheap readers, why didn't you review? I don't care if you review and say I should be ashamed and go into hiding just review!!! Flames, advice, anything I don't care I want to know what you think!

ORORO

Ororo found herself wandering the halls aimlessly one night. She caught a few students out of bed and she gave them the usual motherly scolding and shooed them off to bed. She had been so restless and could not figure out why; _it has been since the day of the meeting _she thought Suddenly the pain sliced through her heart like a cold knife, she knew why she couldn't sleep; she couldn't bear the fact that the Professor wanted to have the children celebrate so soon after the loss of Jean. Storm could feel the burning tears building up behind her eyes; she quickly made her way to her room before anyone could see her. Unfortunately, she was caught.

"Fräuliene Sturm_, what is wrong?"_

The lithe, blue Nightcrawler had just cut her off from exiting one of the adjoining hallways. She looked him in eye with a cold glare that she tried to make and threatening and menacing as possible as she answered.

"Nothing is wrong. I am just going to bed." She moved to go around him but he caught her wrists. She tried to pull away but he held fast.

"_I am sorry for upsetting you, _Sturmliebe_, but I can tell when something is wrong."_

He pulled her towards him and she fought to keep the tears from sliding down her cheeks. _He can't see me like this_, she thought to herself, _I am strong and I must stay that way_. She looked up once more at Kurt and she had intended to glare at him until he backed down but as soon as she set eyes on his face and saw his genuine look of concern her shield fell and she started to cry.

Kurt nodded mutely and pulled her close, hugging her close to him. He lead her back to his room which was just around the corner, he must have known how much it meant to her to have a reputation of being strong and fearless and crying in front of wandering students would not help that. He got the door open with just using his tail and she managed to give him a weak smile. She collapsed of the bed beside him and finally, after what had seemed an eternity, her tears dried and she told him how she felt.

"...and I couldn't bear the fact that we could celebrate so soon after Jean..." a sob choked off the rest of her words and she couldn't tell him anything else. She managed not to tell him the fact that she couldn't get him out of her head but she opened up about everything else. He looked at her mutely, his shining yellow eyes found hers and he spoke with care.

"_I know how you feel, the loss of a close friend is difficult to bear but it is easier if you share your feelings."_

He squeezed her hand in reassurance and continued to speak.

"_Bottling up emotions is not the way to deal with them, Ororo. You act brave for everyone else, thinking that you must hide your pain to help them, but by coming to me tonight you proved that you want to deal with your emotions not ignore them anymore." _

Ororo could so anything but just stare at Kurt in amazement after he had finished speaking. No one, not even Xavier, had been able to understand her and get inside her head like Kurt was doing now. She felt like an overwhelming weight had been lifted off her shoulders.

She managed a smile before saying "Well, you just have me all figured out, don't you?"

She had expected him to laugh but he just looked down and a pain expression crossed his face, his next words nearly broke her heart.

"_I understand what it feels like to lose someone you love dearly, for I lost the woman that I loved."_

He paused and smiled meekly at her before continuing.

"_My adoptive family was wonderful to me. I had a mother, a father and a sister who accepted me even though I looked like a demon. They loved me and I loved them and that was more than I could ever want, but as I grew older my feelings changed. I realised that Amanda meant more to me than any sister, I was in love with her." _

He stopped as if the story was too painful to recall. Ororo held his hand and stroked his cheeks and murmured, "Please, go on."

He drew a shuddered breath and continued. _"I realised that...I loved her and I admitted it to myself. I could not possibly think of admitting it to her, it was out of the question! I knew she could never love me...no matter how much tolerance she had, I was her brother, nothing more._

"_When I left for America and I was taken by Stryker's men they beat me unconscious and when I woke up Amanda was with me. Well, you can imagine how happy I was, the woman I loved came to my aid, and she came to stay by my side! I worked up the courage to tell her how I felt and she told me that she loved me too. Then the next day I find out that Amanda was never there. It was and illusion created by Stryker to keep me happy."_

He stopped his story to pause and look at Ororo. She looked like she was on the verge of tears once more.

"That is such a sad story, you must have been devastated." She crept closer to him, still clutching his hand. "How did you manage to survive something so horrible like that?" Her voice was barely above a whisper. He looked at her, pain shining in his eyes and continued

"_Yes, to say the least I was devastated and so very, very hurt. I remember becoming violent after that, I would ask to see her again because I didn't understand. In the end I am still dealing with those emotions and I know the hurt, the pain and the suffering you feel."_

He slipped his hand around her waist and buried his face in her neck. She could barely speak, _how awful for Kurt_! She realised that she was causing him to go through this all again. She stroked his hair as she said slowly.

"That is such a sad story I'm truly sorry I brought back such painful memories for you. I hate to see you suffer..." she trailed off as he brought up his head to look her in the eye.

He stared right at her and almost through her and said, _"It is not your fault, if anyone is to blame it is Stryker for causing that....but it has been so much easier to deal with these emotions with you at my side."_

He stopped abruptly and dropped his gaze to the floor, he must have realised what he had just said. He quickly added, _"Look at the time; we have nearly talked the entire night! Would you like me to take you back to your room?"_

Ororo smiled and looked at him, she never felt more comfortable in her entire life. She never wanted this night to end. She was about to protest when Nightcrawler _bamfed_ and let go of her. She was in her room, she was about to ask if he wanted to stay for a while but he simply bowed and placed a soft kiss on her hand before _bamfing_ away again in a cloud of blue smoke. She changed hastily and crawled between the covers of her quilt and sighed remembering how secure she felt in his arms. _Well, _Herr_ Wagner_, she thought, _I'm not going to be able to get you out of my head for a long time now, but at the moment I don't mind_. She grinned to herself as she peacefully drifted off to sleep.


	3. Busted

Sorry, I was a bit harsh last time. I really just want people to review. There is a bit of mystery in the air for this chapter. Does Marie like Kurt? Is Ororo falling in love? Ohhh, questions, questions that need answers!

MARIE

Rogue was heading back to her room. She had intended to go to Kurt's room to talk to him but she had heard two voices, not one. She had stood outside the door and listened as Kurt relayed his traumatic story to Ororo. She had heard Ms. Munroe crying and Kurt trying to soothe her. Finally after, what Rogue guessed, was three hours Kurt finally asked her if she wanted to go back to her room. Rogue decided to slip away as quickly as possible. She felt angry, _how dare she think that she is the only one that suffered when they lost Jean, she is so self-centred_! As she walked back to her room a familiar voice caught her attention.

"_Have you come to visit me...or spy on your new crush?"_

She recognised Bobby's voice immediately and she turned around to face him. He was leaning in his doorframe, door closed so the other boys couldn't hear him.

"_Well?"_ he said coldly.

"I heard.... I heard crying. I was wandering around and I couldn't sleep. I walked through the hallway and I heard Ms. Munroe crying, I was making sure she was ok." Rogue spoke quickly in order to get the lie out. Bobby eyed her, suspicion glittering in his eyes. Finally, he seemed to accept her story and spoke quietly.

"_I'm sorry for snapping. Good night, Rogue."_

"'Night Bobby." She would have hugged him but she was wearing a tank top and no gloves. She started back to her room and was just about to open the door when a cloud of sulphurous smoke appeared. Rogue smiled at the German and spoke before he could _bamf_ away again.

"What are you doing up so late, Mr. Wagner?"

"_Was_?" He replied. He must not have seen Rogue hidden in the shadows. _Funny_, she thought, _normally he's the one who hides in the shadows of the school_. She looked at him quizzically. He must have needed a minute to figure out who she was but in the end he must have got it.

"_I am just returning to my bedroom. Why are you out of bed, _Fräuliene_?" _

She didn't bother to answer the question and asked, "Are you returning Ms. Munroe to her room?" His eyes widened and he glared at her.

"_How did you know that?" _

_Damn_, she thought, _gotta think of a cover, quick_. She smiled as innocently as possible and said, "I heard Ms. Munroe leave her room and I heard you talking with her, you have an accent that isn't hard to pick out." She smiled to herself, _that was the best lie I have come up with all night_. Kurt studied her and then replied.

"_Oh, I guess you are right. Are you off to bed now, _Fräuliene_?" _

He asked with a grin. She quickly caught his arm to stop him and said, "I was wondering if I could talk to you..." He smiled and nodded.

"_I enjoy talking with you, let's go to the kitchen and make some coffee, hmmm?"_

She smiled and said, "I would like that." Then she noticed something odd; she had just touched Kurt's bare arm and did not take his powers. _Funny_, she thought as she followed Kurt downstairs, _I touched him long enough; he should have been wincing in pain. Maybe I took his powers and didn't realise it_. She looked at her skin which was still normal coloured and she tried to feel his power in her, and couldn't. She stole a look at Kurt, he looked fine. She decided to ask him how he felt.

"Kurt?"

"_Was_?"

"Are you alright?" she braced herself for him to say, _well, no, I do feel quite odd all of a sudden..._

But instead he just replied, _"Yes, I am fine. Why do you ask?"_ She stood in the kitchen mutely.

"No reason..."

ORORO

It was the day of the dance. Ororo wasn't as upset as she was when the idea had been first brought up, she had Kurt to thank for that. Like she had predicted she couldn't stop thinking about him. It had been two days since their late night conversation but Ororo could vividly recall every emotion and thought. Ororo walked into the kitchen to grab an early snack when she ran into Nightcrawler for the first time in two days.

"Hello, _Herr_ Wagner. Where on earth have you been hiding yourself?" She smiled as he looked up. He looked tired which was very unusual because he only needed a few hours of sleep. He returned her smile and spoke trying to stifle a yawn.

"_I'm still re....recovering from my night of no sleep two days ago."_ He rubbed his eyes to clear them and Ororo thought. _Did he not go to sleep after our little chat? If he didn't why didn't he stay with her?_ She eyed him cautiously and spoke in a puzzled tone.

"Why did you not get some rest?" He looked at her once more then averted her gaze.

"_I ran into young Rogue outside your room once I had left and we spent the rest of the night talking. She was rather upset and I think having a friend present was a measure of comfort to her."_

Storm narrowed her eyes and thought, _hands off girl, he's mine!_ But then she checked herself, he wasn't hers, she was not his girlfriend why was she being so possessive? She stood in a daze trying to figure out what had made her think that. Kurt must have noticed her vacant expression because he waved his tail in front of her face and asked, "Fräuliene_, are you alright? __Your face is pale."_

She snapped out of her daze and looked him over his hands were wrapped around a coffee mug and his tail was still in front of him, she just realised it was stroking her hand. She smiled and answered "I'm fine, but how are you? You were very upset two days ago." He nodded and said nothing. She caught his tail, still stroking her hand, and held on to it. He did not try to pull it away; he looked at her and sighed. He opened and closed his mouth several times like he wanted to speak but it looked like he could not find the words. Finally he spoke but with great care.

"_Yes, I was very upset but I am learning to accept and let go of my feelings for Amanda. I really do have you to thank, you have been so accepting and understanding with me."_ He looked away as if he knew she was going to say that these things weren't true. She decided to hang on to his tail, hoping it brought him some measure of comfort.

"Well," she said "I have to go help set up for the dance tonight. Do you want to come help?"

"_Maybe later."_

Came the reply. As she exited she could still feel his gaze on her back. She couldn't help thinking that she wished she was still stroking his tail.

Author's Note: Yes, yes I know this chapter sucks but just because I'm admitting that doesn't mean I don't want to hear it from others! R &R people, and do it fast!!


	4. Romance at the Dance

ORORO

The dance one of the biggest rooms of the school, all the furniture had been moved out of the room to create a large dancing area. One side had chairs all along the wall for the children who did not feel like dancing during the slow songs. A stage had been set up with a microphone so if the students wished they could do karaoke. So far none of the students were brave enough to sing in public. Ororo looked around the room, she saw many of her students and some politely said hello. She noticed Kitty was Piotr's date and all he could do was stare at her. Bobby and Rogue were with them and neither of them looked like they wanted to be with the other. She scanned the room for Kurt but she couldn't see him anywhere and her heart sank. _Maybe he decided not to come, maybe he just went back up to his room and stayed there. _He did not come to help them set up so maybe he just didn't feel up to it tonight. As she was thinking of all the reasons Kurt had not to show up a pair of hands slide over her eyes. Hands with only three fingers....

"Kurt, is that you?" she asked playfully.

"_Very good_, mein liebe_. How did you know it was me?"_ The grin on his face told her that he knew the answer to the question already. He lowered his hands so he was hugging her waist and whispered in her ear, "_Is everyone behaving themselves?" _

She sighed and replied "Everyone but you. We teacher's are supposed to set an example you know."

He grinned mischievously and responded, "_I know but I can't help it."_ With that he walked over to Logan on the other side of the room and there was a little spring in his step.

MARIE

Rogue had not taken her eyes off Nightcrawler since he entered the room. She saw it all, him teasing Ms. Munroe and whispering in her ear. She wished that Bobby would do that sometimes. _It's not his fault he can't, it's mine_, she thought. She knew that Bobby had a hard time with not being able to touch her and all, he had tried to find ways around it; like when they had ran away to his house but inevitably her power had hurt him once again. Rogue looked at Bobby who was standing next to Kitty and Piotr, his glare was so cold that she actually shivered. She excused herself from the group to go and talk with Logan and Kurt.

"Hey guys!" she said coming up behind Kurt. Logan merely nodded and keep sipping something that Rogue didn't recognise, _probably beer,_ she thought. Kurt's voice broke through her thoughts and she moved so she could face him.

"_How are you feeling this night, _mein fräuliene_?"_ He asked looking solemn.

She flashed him a quick smile and answered "Much better. Yourself?"

He looked briefly over in the direction of where Ms. Munroe was standing and answered, _"Very much better. I think that maybe your friend Piotr is getting to know _Kätzchen_ far too well._" Rogue glanced over her shoulder and saw that Kitty was locked in an embrace with Piotr; she could tell what they were doing. _Well, Kitty, you finally got what you wanted _she thought. She smiled then returned her attention to the two men in front of her.

"What do you guys think of the music?" she asked.

"_Meh."_ came Logan's reply. Kurt's was only a little longer.

"_It is...different then what I am accustomed to." _

He looked across the room at Ms. Munroe and a soft expression crossed his face. Rogue also turned to look at her and realised she was coming this way. Rogue decided to go and be with her "date" even though she knew all she'd get from him was icy glares.

"Nice to talk to you guys" she said as she slipped away.

ORORO

Ororo decided to go over and talk to Kurt. She met Logan's eyes and he just nodded and stalked off. She had dressed up for the occasion but that was just a cover, the real reason she did was for Kurt. She had on a midnight blue velvet shirt and matching pants, the shirt had a low neckline. Around her throat she wore a beautiful yellow diamond necklace. Kurt stood there just looking at her in amazement, he turned around to ask Logan for support but he had disappeared.

"So, are the children behaving themselves?" she asked repeating his earlier question.

He stared at her and all he could get out was _"Ah...well..."_

She smiled and slipped her arm around his waist and asked, "So, does that mean you like how I look tonight?"

He looked her up and down and answered, _"Yes, you are looking very beauty tonight."_

Ororo giggled, she knew that a major sign of his nervousness was that his English started to slip. She stood with him listening to the music and said, "It seems like no one has the nerve to sing in front of an audience."

He looked at the stage, then her and smiled. He then said very casually, _"Well we will just have to give them some courage, _nein_?"_ He strode over to the other side of the room too look for a song he liked in their booklet. She almost laughed when he picked the song "So I Need You" by Three Doors Down, one of her favourite bands. He tapped the microphone to see if it was working then as the song started he sang along with it.

"_If you could step into my head, tell me would you still love me? And if you woke up in my bed tell me, would you still hold me?..." _As he sang more and more students gathered around the stage area and cheered and clapped. When it came to the chorus he looked right at her and sang as if to her, _"Whoa, whoa, can't let you go, my little girl. Because you're holding up my world, so I need you..."_ She blushed and smiled, listening attentively and an even bigger grin stretched across his face. He continued and the girls screamed and the guys gave cat calls as a joke. Everyone cheered him on and finally when the song ended he gave a large sweeping bow and disappeared and appeared right next to her.


	5. The Kidnappers

Ok, first things first, thank you for all the reviews. I would personally like to thank, crimethinker I think it was, for such a lengthy review. Hope this chapter makes a bit more sense. That's all for now I think I just let you read on. Please R&R

KURT

"That might encourage them, _nein_?"

She looked at him in amazement and nodded. Kurt felt very pleased with himself; it was like being at the circus again; the music, the dancing and family. _Wait_, he thought, _did I just call them my family?_ The more he thought the more he realised that the students were becoming like a second family to him. He was very pleased with the feeling and then he noticed Storm looking at him.

"_Was, mein liebchen_?" He asked her politely.

She blushed and then asked, _"Were you....were you singing that song to anyone in particular?" _

It was his turn to blush and he said "What so you think, _mein liebe_?"

She didn't answer instead she stated, _"You are a very good singer."_ She paused for a moment then asked "_Did you learn that in the circus?" _

He nodded and said "That was actually the first time I have preformed and the song was not in German or Rom."

She looked like she wanted to ask him something but he didn't give her the chance. A slow song started and he grabbed her hands and pulled her onto the dance floor. He put his hands around his waist and her arms snaked around his neck and they began moving to the music.

Ororo sighed softly in his arms. She moved with him and his mind was racing with thoughts and his heart with love. Then his tail, which had a horrible habit of betraying his emotions, snaked around her waist and pulled her even closer. She looked down then smiled at him, _mein Gott, _he thought, _it is no wonder that she was once a Goddess to her people, how could they not think so! _As the song continued he stopped thinking and lost himself in Ororo's embrace.

For the both of them the song ended far too quickly. Ororo let go very reluctantly and he studied her expression, it was puzzling but very happy. He allowed herself a smile, _at least she enjoyed it. _He tried to finish the sentence that he had started before the dance but he couldn't, it seemed like his brain could not get the words to his mouth. He turned and surveyed the children on the dance floor, watching her from the corner of his eye. She slipped a hand around his waist and just stood there with him.

BOBBY

Bobby felt like she was ready to burst. He had watched Storm and Kurt dancing and wished that Rogue or at least somebody would dace with him like that. He glared at Rogue, and she must have noticed because she averted her gaze towards Kitty and Piotr. His anger finally got the best of him and before he knew it the words were tripping over one another as he got them out of his mouth.

"Well, you _obviously_ don't want to be here with me so I think I'll just leave."

She stared at him and said, "_What are you talking about? If you....you know what fine! Leave! I don't care because obviously you don't care about ME!"_ He realised that that they were both yelling but he didn't care, she was being so cold towards him lately. People turned around and looked at them but she just pointed to the doors and yelled _"The door is over there, why don't you use it!?!"_ He yelled a reply and stalked over to them.

Bobby's mind was racing. _What an ungrateful bit...what the hell_? He realised that Pyro was standing in the corner of the room smiling at him. He flipped his lighter open exposing the flame and Bobby raised his icy fist. _Good_, he thought, _I can take out my anger on him. _He suddenly heard the Professor's voice in his head. _Don't do anything Bobby. He is not alone, I believe Mystique is here and you can't take on both of them._

_Yes I can,_ he replied angrily. Then the Professor reasoned with him. _Mystique could be anyone just go sort things out with Rogue. I'm going to talk to John_. The Professor started to wheel over to Pyro when he took notice and motioned to leave but stopped in his tracks looking confused. Bobby smiled; he knew the Prof must've frozen him on the spot. He quickly walked over to Rogue but then he saw that Kitty had Rogue by the throat and she yelled at Bobby, _"Come any closer and I'll kill her!"_

ORORO

Kurt and Ororo took notice of the situation and headed towards the centre of the circle. They arrived just in time to see Kitty's form by rapidly replaced by Mystique's who still had her hand around Rogue's throat. Storm noticed something extremely odd; Mystique looked perfectly fine, she wasn't losing her powers she just smiled. Mystique spoke loudly with her eerie voice and demanded.

"_Let me leave with her and I will not harm her! She will return to you once I have finished discussing some business with her." _

Ororo laughed out loud and all eyes turned to her. "Are you kidding? Do you honestly think we would leave with her? You would kill her the instant you got her out of the mansion." She paused for effect and continued "How does this sound, you give us Rogue and I won't order all this mutants to attack you, how do you like the sound of that?" She liked having this kind of authority, _I mean how stupid could this woman be, attack with the entire mansion in front of her. _Mystique did not react to this threat and this scared Storm, _what else does she have up her sleeve?_ When she spoke she spoke with smug satisfaction.

"_Well, I don't think you would do that."_

"What makes you think that, freak?"

"_Because I know for a fact that you would never let me leave the mansion with just Rogue. But I know you would let me leave if I threaten your _lover's_ life."_

Storm felt like her blood had been replaced with ice water. She reached out to grab Nightcrawler but he wasn't there. She looked around wildly and she couldn't see him. She wanted to scream out his name but she had to keep her cool.

"Where is he?" Storm locked her gaze on Mystique who just stood there smiling as innocently as she could.

"_I'll show you." _

The nest series of events happened very fast. Mystique hit Rogue's head with the back of her fist and she crumpled in Mystique's arms. Kurt, who was lurking in the shadows, jumped out at her. Unfortunately she had planned this and her leg went out and hit him hard on the head. He too falls to the ground. During this, Pyro picks up Rogue, careful not touch her skin, and runs out the door. Bobby tries to go after him but Mystique, now carrying Nightcrawler, kicks him square in the chest; he doubles over gasping. This entire scene happens in the space of 10 seconds.

Storm, completely flustered, can only stand there watching this scene, mouth hanging open in utter amazement. When Mystique ran out with Nightcrawler Ororo saw red; she was not going to lose him too. She ran out as fast as she could but instead of turning to go down the hallway to chase them down she runs straight at the window at the end of the hall. She stops long enough to kick the window into a million pieces and with the wind and rain raging outside she has no problem calling up enough wind to carry her to the front of the school.


	6. The Truth

Here's to y'all who gave me reviews. Happy reading!

CHARLES

Meanwhile, back at the dance, Scott is tending to Bobby and Logan to Piotr who they discovered unconscious in a corner of the room. The Professor takes charge and yells at the group of flustered students. "Everyone! Please remain calm! Everyone must stay here with Scott and Logan, understand?" There was a murmur of agreement and Logan and Scott came over to Xavier. He spoke briefly with them and persuaded them to stay here while he searched for Storm, Kurt, Rogue and Mystique with the help of Cerebro. He thought it was very odd, he could sense Pyro but he couldn't tell where on Earth he was. Forget Mystique, she learned how to shield he mind ages ago, maybe she taught Pyro but he didn't have a total handle on it yet....

MYSTIQUE

Pyro and Mystique ran through the mansion with their burdens. Mystique saw Pyro nearly trip over Rogue's feet. _Clumsy boy_, she thought, _why did I let him come with me? He will probably just tell Magneto what I am going to do, but I don't care_. She looked down the hall and finally saw what she was searching for, Kurt's room. It was exactly where Pyro guessed it would be. _I guess the boy does have some uses,_ she mused. She half dragged Kurt into the room and laid him on his bed, then she retreated to the door and grabbed Rogue from Pyro. He seemed relieved that he didn't have to carry her anymore but he looked at her quizzically.

"_Why are we not taking them to the base?"_

"Because, you fool, if we take them there Xavier will find it and we will have to relocate again!" She also didn't mention that Magneto would not approve. She turned her gaze towards the two figures lying on the bed, they were starting to stir. She locked the door quickly and looked at Pyro.

"It might be best if you hide somewhere. They are going to be violent when they awaken."

He sputtered a protest but she silenced him by striking him on the side of the head hard and knocking him unconscious. She dragged him into the bathroom and emerged just as Kurt was sitting up and helping Rogue up. They both took one look at her and tried to attack. She managed to fend them off without hurting them then finally when she grew bored she grabbed Rogue by the wrists and pulled her in front of her. Kurt stopped abruptly and glared at her.

"_What do you want?"_

He asked simply. She smiled; he was such a simpleton, so naive and innocent. She levelled her gaze on him and spoke with authority.

"First, I wouldn't mind if you stopped attacking me. Second, I would like to simply talk with the both of you."

"_Why do you want to talk to us?"_

Rogue asked viciously. She was clearly unhappy that she was being used as a shield for the second time in a row. Mystique let go of Rogue's wrists and shoved her to the floor. As Nightcrawler leaned down to help her Mystique strode over to the bed and sat down. They stood watching her every move. She finally bit the bullet and told them what she had meant to tell them long ago.

"Kurt, Rogue, I'm your mother."

ORORO

Outside Storm waited furiously for Mystique and Pyro to come out but they never did. She was heading inside to see if the Professor had located them with Cerebro when his voice entered her mind. _Storm, what in God's name did you think you were doing?!_

_I had to try and stop them!_ She thought. Sometimes Xavier could not figure anything out even with his powers. _I knew that but did you have to kick that window in?_ He said calmly. She decided not to respond to this; instead she stepped inside Cerebro to talk to him face to face. He turned his wheelchair around to face her and a grim expression was set on his face. She was about to ask him if he had located Kurt but he must have read her mind and answered before she could speak.

"_Yes, I found them. They are still in the mansion, but...something strange is happening. Both Rogue and Nightcrawler are in deep shock. Whatever happened has deeply troubled them. They are in Nightcrawler's bedroom, go and see if you can talk to them. I will send Scott and Logan in a minute."_

As she left Charles sighed. She knew that this was hard for him too but she had to get to Kurt. She can only deal with one distressed mutant at a time.

KURT

"_You...WHAT! You're lying...you're lying..." _

That was all Rogue could say. She was obviously stunned as was he. He had a real mother, and a real sister! He eyed Mystique with suspicion; this was too good to be true. She must be lying as Rogue kept saying but looking into Mystique's yellow eyes he could see the family resemblance between himself and her....

"_No, Rogue, I'm not lying. I am your mother and Kurt is...well...your half brother. I your mother but your fathers are not the same people. If you will let me explain..." _She could not finish her sentence due to the fact that Rogue had torn off her gloves and started hitting her with her fists. Mystique simply stood and let Rogue continue to beat on her; it didn't seem to affect her much. Finally, Rogue dissolved into tears and Mystique caught her. Kurt could feel tears welling in his eyes as well. She didn't want him and had abandoned him when he was child, why would she want him now? Mystique started to tell Rogue why she had to leave her and Kurt listened attentively.

"_When I was pregnant with you Marie I knew I could not keep you. Kurt had blue skin like me and he couldn't hide it. Then when you were born and you had normal skin and you looked like everyone else I was so happy! Maybe I could give you to a normal family and you would turn out normal, but deep down I knew you would end up becoming a mutant. I feared how your powers would manifest, I mean my and Kurt's powers is partially our skin color and for Kurt his tail, I knew you were going to have extremely dangerous powers. So the night you were born I had you I had intended to kill you. I ran away and planned to get rid of you."_ She looked at Rogue who was sobbing even harder into Mystique's chest and she stroked her hair.

"_Just as I was about to throw you into a waterfall you started to cry, just like you are now. When I heard you crying... I guess you could call it motherly instinct...I started to comfort you and you started laughing. It was then that I realised that I couldn't kill you. I left you with a family in Mississippi and told them to raise you as their own and not to mention me. You would have had a family...something I could have never been to you or you Kurt."_ She looked up at him. The tears that were building in his eyes now glistened on his face, he cried because he was hurt and happy at the same time. He had always dreamed of having a family and now that he had one he didn't know what to think. Rogue stopped crying and went to sit on the bed, she stumbled and Kurt caught her hands. Rogue just looked down at his hands and then at Mystique who was nodding her head.

"_I thought that this might be possible."_

Mystique moved so she could stroke Rogue's cheeks, Rogue caught Mystique's hands with her own and closed her eyes. Mystique turned to Kurt who was completely clueless as to what was going on.

"_Marie's power is that when she touches someone she takes their life force...their will to survive."_

She clarified for him seeing the puzzled face he had made.

"_When she touches a mutant she takes their gifts, their abilities. Because I am her mother and I have the same blood that runs through her veins it counteracts her powers and it does not harm me. It must be the same with you but I doubt she would be able to touch you for long, though."_

Mystique smiled and dropped her hands from Rogue's face and walked over to Nightcrawler and hugged him. He had never been happier in his entire life and suddenly the door banged open at he realised he was looking at Ororo's frightened face.


	7. Torn Love

ORORO

As soon as the Professor had told her where Kurt was she had taken off running. She feared for him and of course Rogue but Rogue could easily take care of Mystique with literally a touch of the finger. Then a nagging voice arose in the back of her head that whispered, _but Mystique was holding on to Rogue's neck and she wasn't losing her powers. _Ororo shoved the thought that Mystique might have strangled Rogue, out of her mind. _No_, she thought with tears burning behind her eyes, _they are_ not _dead, the Professor would've told me to expect that_. As Ororo was rounding the last corner to get to Kurt's room she sprinted as fast as she could trying to prepare herself what to expect but nothing could have prepared her for what she saw. Kurt was _hugging_ Mystique and Rogue, who had obviously been crying was smiling at them. Ororo was about to scream bloody murder but Mystique was too quick. She released Nightcrawler and grabbed Ororo's head. She clamped one hand over Ororo's mouth and she motioned the other like she was going to strike her to knock her unconscious. Ororo closed her eyes and braced herself for the blow but it never came. She opened one eye to see Nightcrawler holding on to Mystique's wrist. He was talking quickly in German and Mystique answered harshly. She stared at the pair of them, she didn't know Mystique could speak German, and why wasn't Rogue running to get help? She was just staring at the pair with a strange expression on her face. Finally, they switched back to English and Ororo began to understand what was going on.

"_Mother, please, do not hurt her!"_

"_Kurt, what choice do I have? If I take my hand away she will scream and I will be caught!"_

"_Why can't you stay with us?"_

Rogue interjected. She looked like she was going to cry again.

"_Are you going to abandon both of us again?!" _

Her voice was high pitched and tears glistened in her eyes.

At this Mystique also had tears in her bright yellow eyes and she answered, _"What do...do you think?! Of course not! Do you know how much I risked coming here?"_ Ororo, who had been forgotten, wiggled out of Mystique's grip and ran to Kurt and asked him if he was alright.

"_Yes, _mein liebe_, I found out that I have a family."_ His expression looked happy.

Ororo glanced at Mystique who was smiling proudly at her son. Ororo could not believe this how could he believe her?! She finally blurted out, "How can you be sure? Are you going to just take her word for it? And you, Rogue, how could you possibly trust her? She tried to _kill_ you!" Was she the only one who saw the absurdity in this? She could understand Nightcrawler being her son, I mean who couldn't, matching blue skin and shining yellow eyes, but Rogue? Mystique strode over to Storm and her body went rigid but Kurt slid his arm around her waist and stepped forward.

"_I don't care what you say, mother. I cannot allow you to hurt my Ororo."_

His face looked defiant but she knew Mystique better than him, when she wanted to do something she did it.

But Mystique did something that surprised her; she simply nodded her head and said, _"I will see you soon, my children."_ She then turned towards the bathroom to retrieve an unconscious Pyro before turning into Logan and striding out the door. Rogue looked at Kurt then dashed out the door to stop her mother. Kurt simply walked three steps backwards and fell onto his bed. Ororo motioned to leave but Kurt caught her arm.

"Sturmliebe_, please, stay with me..."_ She looked at him and nodded her head. He pulled her onto the bed next to him and he held her in his arms as they both drifted off to sleep.

KURT

What seemed like 5 minutes later both Kurt and Ororo awoke with Xavier's voice literally ringing in their heads. _Come to my office; that is an order! Uh-oh,_ Kurt thought, _this is not going to be pretty_. Ororo, who had stared to stir immediately when Xavier's voice had entered their minds, motioned to sit up but Kurt wouldn't let her. He hung on to her waist and she turned over to face him.

"_Kurt, we have to go see Xavier. He sounds pretty pissed..."_

"All the more reason to delay the inevitable. I can teleport us there in a second so let's just wait for a bit."

He was so comfortable and this was probably the last time Ororo would let him hold her after he told her what had happened between Mystique and himself. Ororo snuggled closer, which Kurt had thought was almost impossible. She was so close, _mein Gott_; he was going to go crazy if he didn't kiss her. He moved his head forward just slightly so their lips touched, soft and light like a feather. To Kurt's surprise she didn't pull away; on the contrary she wrapped her arms around his neck and made the kiss deeper. Kurt had forgotten briefly about Xavier until he broke into both their minds again and this time he sounded like he was ready to scream. _Either you come now under your own steam or I shall force you. _Kurt cringed; he knew what he was going to hear. He held onto Ororo and with a quick _bamf_ they were in the Professor's office upright, holding each other so tight it was hard to tell where she stopped and he began.

ORORO

Ororo had never seen Xavier this mad, even when she had stolen his wallet when she was a little pickpocket in Cairo. He was always a calm, rational man who knew that getting mad just frustrated everyone, not today apparently. After Kurt had relayed his story to him and Ororo filled in the parts that she had witnessed Ororo felt like she was on the verge of tears. She didn't want the Professor to be mad at her or Kurt. What was worse she feared that the Professor might ask Kurt to leave and not come back. _He would never do that_, she thought as the tears slipped down her face, _he would never send away a troubled soul that he had sheltered. But Kurt had endangered lives and that could be reason enough to make him leave. Well if Kurt had to leave she would go with him, after all isn't that what you are supposed to do for the one you loved?_ _Wait, she loved him?_

The Professor, who had been obviously reading her mind, said quickly, _"Ororo, I would never force Kurt to leave the mansion. You should know better than that."_ But at this Ororo unhinged completely. She fell to the floor and her body shook violently from the sobs that were tearing through her. She felt Kurt's arms around her, whispering in fluent German to her. The Professor wheeled his wheelchair in front of her and put his hands on her head. She looked up at him, her face was red and swollen but the tears were starting to diminish. When he spoke both mutants gave him their attention.

"_Kurt, you must understand what you did was foolish. You cannot trust the fact that Mystique was telling the truth. I do not have an explanation why she would make up a lie like that but I am almost a hundred percent sure that she did lie to you." _

At this Kurt hung his head and now it was his turn to cry. Ororo was doing her best to comfort him but she had absolutely no idea what to do. Her family had been taken from her almost all at once but Kurt got his back finally only to have it taken away again.

"_Could we do a DNA test, for Rogue and my sake's?"_

Xavier obvious understood that he needed proof before he could accept his fate; he was alone and was meant to be. Xavier nodded his head and said _"Of course, I understand it is difficult for you to comprehend all of this. Ororo can take blood samples in the morning but right now I want you both to go and get some sleep."_ They both just nodded he could tell just by looking at them that the two people were very distraught. Kurt moved as if he was going to exit through the door but Ororo caught him and hugged him close and whispered in his ear. He nodded and they both disappeared in a cloud of foul-smelling blue smoke with a quiet _bamf_.

KURT

They were in Ororo's room in an instant. He wished that this night had never happened, well, maybe that the dance happened but not all the other stuff. He knew that she knew from first-hand experience that it was hard not having family to fall back on. The best anyone could do when that family had been stripped from you was offer their sympathy and it helped....a little bit. Kurt was still holding on to her and they had been in her room for a while now. Not that either of them cared, but it was hard and obviously the most devastating thing he could have ever gone through.

"_Kurt?" _

She whispered in his ear. She didn't get a real response, just a muffled sob.

"_Oh my, Kurt. Come sit down." _

She tried to pull away but he farthest he would allow her, or better put his tail would allow her, was so she could see his face. As she looked up into his golden eyes and he knew they were clouded with tears. His eyes were puffy and they had turned purple around the edges. There were so many tears running down his face and he could feel her body shaking against his own. She kissed him on both cheeks and pulled him towards her bed.

"_It's alright Kurt. You don't have to be brave for me. You don't have to bottle up your emotions. I'll be here for you."_

La Fin


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